


Far Reaching Consequences Season 1

by LaceyBarbedWire



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:45:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3216236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaceyBarbedWire/pseuds/LaceyBarbedWire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All actions have consequences. Some are immediate, some are delayed. Some are short lived, some are far reaching. What if Regina had tried to fight Cora the night she had killed Daniel? What would have changed about Regina? A retelling of the series starting with Season 1, though not every episode will be recapped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I ran inside my house, throwing my jacket off the second the door shut. I didn’t bother to hang the jacket up as I went straight for the kitchen, tearing my right glove off with my left hand and pulling my left glove off with my teeth. I opened the cupboard above the fridge and reached with my left hand for my medicine, being careful not to let my right arm bump into anything. I had to stand on my tiptoes to get it which was inconvenient but better than putting it somewhere Henry could get it. My hand finally grabbed it, but to my horror I quickly realized that it was empty. Cursing, I threw the bottle to the ground. Between Henry disappearing and Miss Swan’s arrival I’d forgotten to refill my prescription! After replacing the bottle, I went to the sink and turned it on as cold as it got. Once it had gotten as cold as it was going to get, I put the plug in, then turned to face the freezer. Now for the hard part.  
Gritting my teeth I opened the freezer with my left hand, then grabbed the ice bin with both hands. My right hand screamed in protest, but I ignored it as best as I could and dumped the ice in the sink. I turned the sink off, then let go of the bin with my right hand and replaced it. After making sure the ice maker was on I quickly turned back to the sink and plunged my right arm into the sink getting as much of my arm into the sink as I could. I let out a sigh of relief as the cold ice water made my arm go numb. It was a temporary fix of course, but I was just glad for some relief. I looked around the kitchen, and my eyes fell on a sheet of paper I’d left on the counter. It was a ‘contract’ of sorts that I’d typed up for Miss Swan and me regarding Henry.  
As I’d taken the time to calm down and think things over, I’d decided that I’d overreacted when it came to Emma Swan. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let her spend time with Henry. So much of my time was taken up by being mayor that Henry spent more time home alone than I was comfortable with. The woman was certainly capable of taking care of our son, for limited amounts of time of course. Besides, it might placate Henry and get him to stop making those comments about me being evil that were far too familiar. I nodded to myself as I stared absently out of my window. Emma Swan was…in my backyard. With a chainsaw. I blinked in confusion as I stared out the window at her.  
In my experience there were only three reasons for a person to be carrying a chainsaw. The first was that they were a would be serial killer who’d seen Texas Chainsaw one too many times. I dismissed that option as being unlikely. Emma was probably smart enough to realize that she couldn’t get away with killing me with a chainsaw, not in a small town like Storybrooke at any rate. The second reason was that they were going to clear away a fallen tree. Once again, unlikely. I didn’t have any fallen trees in my backyard, and why would she be doing a random act of service for me anyway? That left the last reason-cutting down a tree that was still standing. My eyes widened as I realized that she was heading…right. For. My. Apple. Tree! I yanked my arm out of the sink and bolted outside. It’s not easy to run in heels, but I managed it. “Miss Swan, what do you think you’re doing?” I yelled. She froze, dropping the chainsaw, then turned to face me.  
“What do you think?” She snapped.  
“I think you were about to try and destroy my private property. Considering the fact that you were recently locked up for driving drunk and destroying our sign, I’d have thought you’d want to avoid committing any more crimes for a while.” I said, my voice calm but icy.  
“How many times do I have to say that I was not that dru…” Her voice trailed off. “What the hell happened to your arm?” I flinched, realizing that I was wearing the sleeveless dress I’d worn under my jacket, but not the jacket. She could see my right arm, could see the horrible burn scars and melted looking skin.  
“Get off my lawn Miss Swan.” I said shortly, turning and heading back to my house and the sink of ice water.  
“Regina, wait!” Emma called, following after me. I stepped up my pace, which was a mistake. In my haste to save my tree my heels had made a small hole in the lawn. I tripped and landed hard on my right arm. It hurt so much that, much to my dismay, I cried out in pain. Scowling, I tried to push myself up, which was not an easy task with only one arm. “Regina?” Emma asked hesitantly, standing over me.  
“Go ahead and cut my tree down Miss Swan.” I growled. “I can’t exactly stop you now.” She just rolled her eyes.  
“I was only going to cut off a branch.” She said, stooping down to grab my left arm.  
“Oh that makes everything better.” I growled as she helped me up. Once I was firmly on my feet I shook her arm off and took a few steps forward. Unfortunately, the lack of painkillers and the shock of falling on my arm had made me rather unstable on my feet. I start to fall forward, only for Emma to lunge forward and wrap her arms around my waist, keeping me up. To my horror, she then proceeded to pick me up bridal style and carry me back to my house, seemingly unbothered by my weight. Admittedly, I only weighed one twenty-five, but still! “Damn you’re butch.” I muttered. Emma gave an exasperated sigh.  
“You could try saying thanks you know.” She said, stopping at my back door and gently putting me down on my feet. I glared at her.  
“I didn’t need you to carry me Miss Swan. I’m neither a toddler nor a china doll.” I said, opening the door. “And if you don’t want to be called butch, don’t walk around in a wife beater while carrying power tools.” I started to close the door, but she stopped me and steeped inside. I didn’t bother telling her to get out. Instead I chose to dunk my arm back in the water, letting out another, smaller, sigh of relief as I did so. Emma stood there awkwardly.  
“So…do you need to go to the hospital?” She asked. I shot her a withering look, though Emma seemed resistant to such looks.  
“Does this look like it happened today Miss Swan?” I snapped. “Doctor Whale is well aware of my situation, which is why I have a prescription.” Emma walked over and picked up the small orange bottle.  
“Vicodin?” She asked, an eyebrow raised. For some reason I blushed.  
“The burns severely damaged my nerve endings. Unless I numb them with painkillers or ice the only thing they register is pain, no matter how light the touch.” Emma frowned, perhaps realizing that she’d only seen me with gloves and long sleeves on. Her next words confirmed that.  
“Then why the gloves and long sleeves? That can’t help.”  
“My arm looks like Freddy Krueger’s face Miss Swan.” I said flatly. “I’d rather not traumatize my son, or any other young children for that matter.”  
“Alright, fair enough. How’d it happen?”  
“There was an accident.” That was a lie of course. It had been anything but an accident, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. Emma looked skeptical and opened her mouth, but I cut her off. “The state of my arm is not open for discussion.” I said firmly. “Now, if you’d take a look at the piece of paper on the counter…”  
“What is it?” Emma asked with a slight frown, picking it up.  
“It’s a contract of sorts, regarding Henry. Simply put, it states that you can have Henry every Tuesday and Thursday for six hours after school every week, as well as a Friday or Saturday where he can spend the night at your home. The terms of the contract will be negotiable in thirty-one days’ time.” Emma blinked.  
“Seriously? They make contracts like this?”  
“You’re holding it aren’t you?”  
“But this is legally binding and stuff?” She asked in surprise.  
“Of course not. I simply used a divorced couple’s shared custody agreement as a template. Strictly speaking there’s nothing binding about it.”  
“Then what’s the point?”  
“So you have collateral.” Emma gave me a confused look and I sighed. “If I ever get angry with you and stop you from seeing Henry, you can show this to him and prove that I broke our deal.” Emma gave me a look that was equal parts wary and surprised.  
“Why would you do that?” She asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but why would give me something to use against you?”  
“Because Miss Swan, I have a lot on my plate right now. Storybrooke may not be big, but being the mayor still carries a lot of responsibility. Then there’s the fact that the man who owns half the town would like nothing more than for me to lose my job. And on top of all that, I’m the single mother of a ten year old boy who’s decided that I’m the source of all the evil in the world. Quite frankly, I don’t have time for you to be my enemy right now.” Emma looked at me for a moment, then shrugged.  
“Fair enough.” She pulled a pen out of her pocket and set the ‘contract’ on the counter, then frowned. “Uh…why did Ronald McDonald sign this?” She asked. I stared at her, baffled and annoyed.  
“He didn’t.”  
“Are you sure?” Emma held up the contract and pointed at my signature. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s what this says.” I glared daggers at her.  
“I’m right handed Miss Swan.” I said through gritted teeth. “Why don’t you sign that with your left hand and we’ll see how legible your signature is.” Emma glanced at my still submerged right arm and winced.  
“Right, sorry.” She said, quickly signing the ‘contract’. After signing it however, she paused and looked at me. “Wait, how do you type with only one…” I gave her another glare and this time she actually did stop talking. I took a deep breath.  
“Miss Swan, could…you do two things for me?” I asked hesitantly. Emma gave me a wary look.  
“That depends.”  
“I dropped my jacket and gloves in between the front door and here. Could you get them for me?”  
“Yeah, sure.” Emma said, looking relieved and slightly confused. “What’s the second thing?” I took a deep breath. This next part was going to be hard for me.  
“I need you to pick up Henry from school and take care of him until five.”  
“Why, what’re you going to be doing?” Emma asked, even more confused now.  
“I’m going to soak my arm for another half an hour, and then I’m going to drive to the hospital to pick up my prescription…” Emma was already shaking her head.  
“Uh-uh, no way am I letting you drive.”   
“Excuse me?” I demanded indignantly.  
“With that arm and the amount of pain you’re in? Yeah you’re not driving anywhere. Frankly, I’m not sure you should ever drive.”  
“What?  
“Ever heard the expression two hands on the wheel?”  
“I’m not such an invalid that I can’t hold a steering wheel for ten minutes Miss Swan.” Provided that I was on my painkillers of course. I’d have to drive one handed for the trips to and from the hospital, but Emma didn’t need to know that.  
“Let me guess, you can handle those ten minutes when you’re on your painkiller, right?” I blinked. I guess she did know that. “I’m not sure having you drive while doped up on Vicodin is any better.”  
“Miss Swan, I have successfully managed this town for over ten years and raised a perfectly functional child while taking Vicodin. I am not ‘doped up’ as you put it.” I snapped.  
“Alright, sorry. But seriously though, just give me the prescription and I’ll get Whale to refill it for you.”  
“I…” I started to protest, but Emma cut me off. Again.  
“Look, think about how reckless it’d be for you to drive in your current condition. Think of what a bad example you’d be setting for Henry.”  
“Miss Swan…”  
“Think of the Benz Regina! Think of how much it’d suck to wreck that awesome car.” I rolled my eyes. Judging from the way she was struggling to keep a straight face I got the feeling that Emma was grasping at straws, but that she was also determined to keep me from driving.  
“Fine Miss Swan. The prescription is above the refrigerator.” I sighed. Smiling triumphantly, Emma walked over, opened the cupboard, and grabbed it, all without having to get on her tiptoes. I barely hid my scowl. Emma stepped out for a minute, then came back with my jacket and gloves. “Thank you.” I said as she set them down on the counter. She shrugged.  
“Don’t worry about it.” Emma turned to leave, but I spoke up.  
“Miss Swan…if you return Henry in a satisfactory condition and on time you’re…welcome (I almost choked on that last word) “To stay for dinner.” She stared at me incredulously.  
“Did you just invite me over for dinner?”  
“I don’t remember stuttering Miss Swan.”  
“You invited me over to spend more time with you and Henry?”  
“Yes.” I said, supremely annoyed now.”  
“Who are you and what have you done with Regina?” She demanded.  
“Excuse me?”  
“You’re being nice to me.” Emma said with a slight smile. “And not just politician nice, but actual nice.”  
“Trust me Miss Swan, I’m not being nice.” I told her. “I’m only inviting you because Henry likes you and because this way I’ll have someone besides him to snap at while I’m waiting for the painkiller to kick in. I’m doing this for Henry’s sake, not yours.” Emma smirked.  
“If you say so.” She said.  
“You just tried to cut a limb off my apple tree Miss Swan.” I reminded her. Emma winced.  
“Right. Forgot about that.”  
“You forgot about bringing a chainsaw into my backyard?” I demanded incredulously.  
“Well, your arm kind of drove everything else out of my mind.” Emma said apologetically. I let out something that was cross between a sigh and a growl.  
“Just…get out of my house Miss Swan.”  
“I’ll be back at five with Henry.” Emma said, walking out of the kitchen with a slight smile back on her face.  
POV Shift-Emma, 3rd Person. 15 minutes later-Storybrooke Hospital  
“This is highly irregular.” Whale told Emma as he unlocked the hospital pharmacy. “Normally we make patients pick up their own prescriptions unless they’re minors.” He continued as he looked for Regina’s Vicodin. “However, considering the circumstances I wouldn’t want her driving either.” He handed the orange bottle to Emma.  
“Thanks. Hey, she’s not addicted to these, is she?” Emma asked with forced casualness.  
“I doubt it. She goes through a lot of pills, but that’s to be expected considering the extent of her injuries.” Whale said as he stepped out. “Some of the pain may be psychological, but that’s almost certainly more due to trauma than addiction.” He said this last part more to himself than to Emma.  
“Trauma?” Whale looked at her.  
“Why are you so interested?” He asked. Emma shrugged uncomfortably.  
“She’s raising my kid and she’s the mayor. Regina could make my life really difficult if she wanted to. Can you blame me for wanting to figure out what makes her tick?” Whale considered her answer for a moment, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  
“Well, I suppose this doesn’t fall under doctor-patient confidentiality, seeing as it’s merely my suspicions.” He said finally. “Typically, burns, especially ones as severe as hers, aren’t so…neat. If someone was trapped in a burning building, or fell into a campfire or something I’d expect the burns to be spread out and varying in severity. Regina’s though, are confined solely to her right arm and are uniform in how severe they are. There’s no sign of burns on her ribs, stomach, neck, or back. Quite frankly, it looks like someone strapped her arm down, soaked it in gasoline, and lit it on fire.” Emma stared at him in shock.  
“Wait, you’re saying someone did that to her?”   
“I can’t say for certain since Regina refuses to say anything besides ‘it was an accident’, but it certainly looks like it.”  
POV Shift-Regina, 1st person-The Enchanted Forest  
I stared in horror as the dust that used to be Daniel’s hear slipped through my mother’s fingers. “No. No, no, no, no, no.” I rambled as I clutched his corpse. My eyes traveled down Daniel’s body until they landed on the knife at his belt. As far as I knew Daniel had only ever used it to pry rocks from out of a horse’s shoe and to slice up the occasional apple. I highly doubted that it had ever been used as a weapon before, but that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that it was sharp and could be used as a weapon. Without thinking I drew the knife and threw myself at my mother, bringing the knife down towards her neck. My mother’s eyes widened and she grabbed my wrist with her left hand, using magic to freeze my body.  
“How dare you! After everything I’ve done for you, after everything I’ve sacrificed for you, you dare try to attack me?!” She hissed. “I’m your mother, I know what’s best for you.” She took a deep breath, then grew unnervingly calm. “It looks like I’ll have to teach you another lesson tonight dear.” Suddenly, her left hand burst into black flames that traveled down my arm and up my hand until my right arm was completely covered by the flames. “Never raise your hand against me again.”  
Present Day-Storybrooke-Regina’s house  
I looked up as I heard the door open and shut. “Alright kid, go upstairs and wash up for dinner.” Emma said. The next noise I heard was my son running up the stairs. I gulped. Once the first noise I would have heard was Henry greeting me. I shook my head sternly, blinking away the annoying prickling in my eyes before Emma walked into the kitchen. “Here you go.” Emma said, setting down the orange bottle on the counter.  
“Thank you Miss Swan.” I said, pulling my arm out of the sink and picking the bottle up. “I trust Doctor Whale didn’t give you any trouble?”  
“Nah, he was fine. He said there was no way in hell I could have stolen your…” Her voice trailed off as I used my teeth and left hand to open the bottle, biting down on the lid to make the required pressure and turning it with my hand. “So that’s what the dents in the lid are from.” She said, sounding amused. I glared as I set the bottle down and took the lid out of my mouth. Normally I’d just use both hands, but my right arms simply hurt too much after going over twelve hours without painkillers. I silently picked up the bottle and tried to tip two pills out, only for twenty to fall onto the counter. “Here, I’ll put them back in the bottle.” Emma said, seeing me scowl in frustration.  
“…Thank you Miss Swan.” I said slowly. I hated coming off as an invalid, but my pain overruled my pride, at least for the moment. “How is Henry?”  
“Clean, happy, and healthy.” Emma announced proudly as she began replacing the pills. “I picked him up, took him back to my place, he did his homework, and then we talked.”  
“I see.” After dry swallowing my pills I gave her a look. “And how many of Granny’s milkshakes did he have?”  
“None.” Emma said, far too quickly and far too defensively. I chose to say nothing, instead merely raising an eyebrow. She squirmed for a second, then sighed. “Three. But they were all strawberry!” She exclaimed in protest at my disapproving look.  
“Oh, that makes it healthy then.” I said dryly.  
“Well, they’ve got milk and fruit.” She protested weakly. I sighed.  
“In the future, if you have to give him some sort of dessert please limit him to one a day.” I said just as the time on the oven went off. I turned around, grabbed a hot pad off the counter, and carefully removed the pan of lasagna from the oven. Emma stared as I set it down.  
“Why do I get the feeling that was homemade today, and not Stouffers of some other store brand?” She asked as I began cutting the lasagna into pieces.  
“Because it’s in a nice glass pan?”  
“I can barely make anything more complicated than grilled cheese with two hands! How did you make that with one?” She demanded.  
“I’ve been dealing with my arm since I was eighteen Miss Swan.” I said simply. “I’ve adapted. Besides, this is a simple recipe.” The timer on the microwave went off, alerting me to the other thing in the oven finishing. I turned it off, then stooped down and removed a loaf of garlic bread from the oven.  
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Emma muttered, looking from me to the bread and back again. “What else is in that oven?”  
“Nothing.” I said, adjusting the heat on the oven and walking to the fridge. Emma stared incredulously as I removed an uncooked apple pie from the fridge and placed it in the oven, and then set the time again. I noticed her look and frowned. “What now Miss Swan?”  
“I…I…Did you do anything else today? Like a knit a space shuttle or something?” I rolled my eyes and began slicing up the garlic bread.  
“Stop being absurd. These are all simple recipes.”  
“No Regina, simple is pancakes, or BLTs, or grilled cheese. There is no universe where homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and apple pie count as simple.”  
“There wasn’t much else for me to do today. I couldn’t go back to the office in my condition. Now,” I handed her two hot pads. “Please put the lasagna on the table.”  
“Whatever you say Martha Stewart.” Emma muttered, taking the lasagna and stepping out into the dining room. I rolled my eyes again, then pull on my jacket and gloves. “What’re you doing?” Emma asked as she came back into the kitchen. “There’s no way your medicine kicked in that quickly.”  
“You are correct. It hasn’t.” I said, tugging on the bottom of my right glove to make sure that all of my hand and wrist was covered and wincing slightly. “However, I’ve gone ten years without letting Henry see my arm, and I’m not going to let him see it today. Now please put the garlic bread on the table while I go call Henry for dinner.” I left the kitchen without waiting for an answer and made my way to the staircase. “Henry? Time for dinner!” I called. In the past I would have gone to his bedroom, but he’d made it clear that I wasn’t welcome in there and I had no desire to alienate my son any further. He walked to the bannister and frowned down at me.  
“But…I didn’t hear Emma leave.” Henry said, puzzled.  
“That’s because she hasn’t.” I told him. “I invited Miss Swan to stay for dinner.” Henry’s face lit up.  
“You did?”  
“I did.” I assured him, fighting to keep the pain his reaction caused me from showing. Henry grinned and ran down the stairs, going straight for the dining room and not giving me so much as a glance. I swallowed a lump in my throat and followed.  
The Enchanted Forest  
I let out a scream of pain and sank to my knees as the flames consumed my arm. My mother watched for a moment, then let go of my wrist. The flames seemed to sink into my skin as she watched with pursed lips. “Now look what you made me do.” Mother scolded. “We’re going to have to alter your dress now, change the sleeves to hide your scars. And we’re going to have to come up with an excuse for them as well.” She started pacing, ignoring my muffled sobs. “We can’t say you fell into a fire.” She mused. “That would make you look clumsy. Not a very desirable trait in a queen. No, it’ll have to be something else.” Mother stopped pacing and smiled. “I know. The stables caught on fire, and you ran in to save the horses. You made it out, barely, and saved most of the horses as well. Unfortunately the poor stable boy wasn’t able to escape.” She paused, mulling it over, then nodded. “Yes, that’ll do nicely. I’ll even let you keep your precious stallion, what’s its name.” I glared daggers up at her, still slumped over on the ground. Mother sighed and used magic to pick me up and lift me into the air. “You should be grateful.” She scolded, conjuring a fireball and throwing it into the far corner of the barn. “If you were engaged to anybody but the king I’d have done far worse after what you tried to do.” I just kept glaring at her as she continued working on her ruse. There was no point in running away from my wedding now that Daniel was dead, but I wasn’t going to return to doing whatever my mother wanted either. I would make her pay for everything she’d done tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

I heard the massive rumbling from my office. “What the hell?” I muttered, my head snapping up. I quickly picked up the phone and dialed the sheriff’s office. “Sheriff Graham, what was that?”  
“I’m not sure yet. We’re receiving preliminary reports that it may have come from the entrance to the old mines.” I paled and hung up the phone, then ran out to my car.  
Fifteen minutes later-The Old Mines  
I frowned as I stepped out of my car. What was Emma doing standing next to Graham? I shook my head. There were more important things to deal with. “Sheriff, if you would please cordon off the area.” I said briskly, surveying the area. Fortunately the damage didn’t seem to be too great. There weren’t any sinkholes yet as far as I could see, so the collapse had most likely been internal. Realizing that she was still here, I turned to look at Emma. “Miss Swan, this is city business now, so please leave.”  
“Actually, I work for the city now.” Emma said, pulling back her red jacket to show a deputy’s badge. I stared.  
“Well, I suppose the mayor’s always the last to know.” I said finally, looking at Graham who shifted uncomfortably.  
“It’s in my budget.” He reminded me.  
“Obviously.” I muttered. “Fine. Sheriff, deputy, please cordon off the area.” Then I turned to face the small crowd. “Everyone, if you would please remain calm. We have always known that this area was full of old mining tunnels. Once we’ve made certain that things have stabilized in those tunnels, I will implement a plan to convert this area for city use. We will bulldoze it, pave it…”  
“Pave it?” Henry called out incredulously. “But then we’ll never find out what’s down there!” I stared as my son ran out of the crowd to stand in front of me.  
“Henry, what are you doing here?”  
“We need to know what’s down there.” He said, ignoring me.  
“Henry, it’s an abandoned mining tunnel. There is nothing there?” I said patiently.  
“Yes there is, that’s why you want to pave over it! What are you hiding down there?” Henry demanded. I looked at him sternly.  
“Henry, not now.” I said softly, fighting to keep my dismay from showing. “Now, go wait in the car.” Henry glared at me, then stomped off. I let out a sigh and walked over to where Graham and the fire chief were talking. Out of the corner of my though, I noticed Henry whispering to Emma and Dr. Hopper. After I was done discussing how to keep the area blocked off I cornered Dr. Hopper. “We need a new treatment plan.” I told him firmly.  
“Excuse me?” Hopper asked, confused.  
“I can’t take care of a public safety hazard without Henry thinking that I’m hiding something.” I snapped. “He’s been seeing you for months now and he still thinks I’m some kind of monster. Whatever you’re doing isn’t working.”  
“Mayor Mills, a child’s mind is very delicate, particularly one as imaginative as Henry’s. Rushing this would be extremely damaging…”  
“Dr. Hopper, I might be inclined to listen to you if you could show me any results, but you can’t.” I said, cutting him off. “At the rate you’re going, Henry might decide I’m not a villain from his stories by the time he goes off to college.” I took a step closer to him. “I want to see results Doctor. And if I don’t see them soon…”  
“Is everything all right here?” Emma interrupted. I glared at her, but stepped back.  
“Yes, everything’s fine Deputy Swan.”  
“Good. Archie, could you excuse us please? I need to have a word with the mayor.” There was an edge to her tone that surprised me. Dr. Hopper looked from her to me and then quickly walked away. Smart man.  
“This better be important Deputy.” I said, turning to fully face her.  
“I just wanted to make sure that you knew that as deputy I’ll be handling all calls and anonymous tips, so you better not try another shoddy frame job.” I gave her a blank look.  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I’m talking about you leaning on Archie to make it look like I stole Henry’s file from him.” She snapped.  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I was telling the truth. Emma getting a hold of Henry’s file was news to me. Even I hadn’t seen it. And as far as using it to try and frame her…  
“Please.” Emma scoffed. “Who else could force Archie to do something like that?”  
“You’d be surprised.” I said dryly. “Dr. Hopper’s not exactly the bravest of men. Besides, why would I attempt to get you arrested and then turn around and make a deal with you?” Emma opened her mouth, then closed it. “Wait…is this why you were going to cut down my tree?”  
“Just one branch.” Emma protested, looking like this conversation was definitely not going the way she’d planned. I let out a frustrated growl.  
“Next time something bad happens to you Miss Swan, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t automatically assume it was my fault.” I said flatly before walking away.  
Twelve hours later  
I paced across my study, clutching my cell phone in my left hand. I looked at it, sighed in resignation, and then selected Emma from my list of contacts. “Emma Swan.” Emma said, answering the phone.  
“Is he with you?” I demanded.  
“Is who with me?” Emma asked, sounding confused.  
“Henry.” It wasn’t one of Emma’s days, but that didn’t mean that Henry couldn’t have gone to her apartment.  
“No. He’s not with you?”  
“Would I be calling you if he was?” I snapped.  
“Well, where was he before he was supposed to come home?”  
“He had an appointment with Dr. Hopper. But that should have ended half an hour ago.”  
“You let him walk home alone?” Emma asked in surprise.  
“This isn’t Boston Miss Swan. He’s been perfectly fine until today.” I said curtly.  
“Right, sorry.” Emma said quickly. “Look, you stay at home in case he comes there, I’ll call Archie to see if he can remember if Henry gave any hint about where he went.” Before I could respond, she hung up. I sighed and slipped the phone into my pocket, then resumed pacing. Suddenly a thought occurred to me. The mines…would Henry have been so reckless as to go down there to look for whatever he thought I was hiding down there? I shook my head. This was the boy who’d gone to Boston all by himself to find a woman he’d never met. Of course he’d be willing to go into a mine. I rushed to the garage, grabbing a flashlight from the shelf as I went to the car.  
Four minutes later-The Old Mines  
“Henry?” I called out, shining the flashlight into the tunnel. There was no answer. I gingerly made my way inside the mine, carefully stepping over rocks. “Henry, are you in here?”  
“Regina?” Emma exclaimed in surprise from behind me. “What the hell are you doing here?” I turned around to face her and, to my surprise, Dr. Hopper.  
“What does it look like? I’m looking for my son.” Emma rolled her eyes, walked forward, and grabbed my left bicep. “Let go of me!” I snapped as she proceeded to drag me out of the mine while Dr. Hopper made his way in deeper.  
“Regina, you cannot go in there.” Emma hissed forcefully once we were out of the mines.  
“That’s my son in there!”  
“I know.” She said, not unkindly. “But you’ve been sitting behind a desk for ten years…”  
“I am perfectly in shape Miss Swan.” I snapped. “I jog every day, which is more than I can say for Dr. Hopper.”  
“Fine. But you’ve still got a useless right arm and you’re wearing heels.” I felt my face flush.  
“Very well. I believe I have jogging shoes in my car.” I growled, shaking my arm free. Emma let out an exasperated sigh.  
“And those shoes are going to magically heal your arm?”  
“You are not keeping me out of that mine.” I told her angrily as I headed for my car. Emma’s response was cut off by a massive rumbling noise. We whirled around to see the entrance to the mine collapse. “Henry!”  
Three hours later  
I let out a quiet sob of relief as Emma and Henry were pulled out of the shaft. The paramedics pulled Henry away to look him over, and I stopped to look at Emma. “Thank you.” I said softly, awkwardly. Emma smiled at me.  
“Think you could say that without sounding like it hurts you?” She teased, taking off the harness.  
“Don’t push your luck Miss Swan.” I said dryly, walking to Henry, Emma right behind me. I almost told her to go do her job as deputy and do crowd control, but I bit my tongue. I reminded myself that I had a truce with Emma, and besides, she had just saved Henry. It wouldn’t hurt to let her hug him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes, the mine scene was over rather quickly. I have a reason for this that isn’t laziness, I swear! My opinion on AU stories is that you should only change the things that your initial, AU causing change would have, well, changed. As the state of Regina’s arm would have had no effect in this situation, nothing was changed. And I don’t like writing things when they have no difference from what happened in the story. So I skipped it.  
> Anyways, thanks for reading guys! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

I was going over some paper work when my office phone rang. I frowned and picked it up. “Mayor Mills.” I said, wondering who’d be calling during business hours without an appointment.  
“Hello, am I speaking to Regina Mills?” A woman who I didn’t recognize asked. I blinked. Not someone from Storybrooke then.  
“Yes, this is she.”  
“My name is Carla Browning, I work with Child Protective Services.” I stiffened. What was a CPS worker doing calling me? “I was wondering if I could meet with you tomorrow at four at your office.”   
“Of course.” I said warily.”  
“Excellent. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up before I could ask what this was about. I stared at the phone and slowly set it down. A deep sense of foreboding filled me, and I let out a sigh as I returned to my paper work.  
Twenty Hours Later  
There was a knock at my door and I glanced at the clock. Four o’clock. “Come in.” I called, standing up. An older woman with a few streaks of grey in her brown hair walked through. “Ms. Browning?”  
“Yes, that would be me.” She said, a bit colder than I expected. A second later, a very confused looking Emma Swan through the door.  
“What’s she doing here?” I asked in my politician’s polite voice.  
“My business concerns both of you.” Ms. Browning said, putting the folder she was holding. “Would it be all right if I sat there?” She asked, pointing at my chair.” I think it’d be easier for everyone if I could see both of you at once.” I stared at her for a moment, taken aback, then nodded and stepped aside.  
“Of course.” I said, sitting down at one of the chairs in front of my desk. Emma hesitated, then sat down next to me.  
“Now then, Ms. Mills, do you know why I asked for this meeting?” Ms. Browning asked, setting the folder down.  
“I’m afraid I don’t.”  
“Well we received some very interesting information a few weeks ago.” She said, opening her folder. “It would appear that you were not entirely honest when you adopted your son Ms. Mills.” I stared at her.  
“E…Excuse me?”  
“When you applied to begin the adoption process you were asked, among other things, if you had any medical conditions that would make it difficult for you to raise a child. At the time you said no. And yet, these medical records say that you do indeed have a medical condition, and have since you were eighteen.” She slid across a sheet of paper. It was a brief medical summary on the condition of my right arm, written and signed by Dr. Whale. I felt my blood go cold.  
“Where did you get that?” I asked, staring at the paper,  
“Dr. Whale gave it to me, after I gave him a court order for your medical records.” Ms. Browning told me. “And I got the court order after receiving these in the mail.” She slid several blown up, high quality pictures of me in sleeveless or short sleeve tops, my burned arm in plain view. “No, unfortunately whoever sent these chose to do so anonymously, but they were detailed enough that we had to investigate.” She slid another sheet of paper across the desk. “Ms. Mills, I’m afraid that you have been declared physically unfit to raise a child. Effective immediately, Henry will no longer be in your custody.” I stared at her, horrified and unable to speak. I was dimly aware of the fact that Emma looked shocked as well, but I wasn’t able to properly process that information in my current state. “Now, normally Henry would be placed back in the foster system.” Ms. Browning continued. “However, as he still has a living birth parent there is another option.” She turned to look at Emma. “Miss Swan, if you are willing you have been deemed a fit parent and may take custody of Henry.”  
“I…I…” Emma stammered. Stiffening, I slowly turned my head and stared at Emma for a brief moment before turning back to stare at the wall behind my desk as realization dawned. I couldn’t believe that I had been so thoroughly outmaneuvered. Ms. Browning gave Emma a kind smile.  
“I understand that this is a very big, very unexpected decision. I’ll give you a few minutes to decide.” She stood up and left my office. Once the doors had shut Emma turned to face me, doing a very good job of looking stunned.  
“Regina…”  
“Take him.” I said flatly, not looking at her.  
“Wh…What?” Emma exclaimed.  
“There are no foster homes in Storybrooke Miss Swan. If you don’t take him he’ll be put in the system and taken out of Storybrooke.” I let out a bitter laugh and stood up. “Congratulations. You won the custody battle without me even realizing it had begun.”  
“Regina, I didn’t…” Emma began as I walked towards the doors.  
“Save it.” I growled. “Come to my house tomorrow afternoon.”  
POV Switch-Emma, third person. Twenty hours later  
Emma let out a sigh as she pulled into Regina’s driveway. She’d considered bringing Henry since the small size of her and Mary Margret’s apartment meant that a lot of his stuff would be going into storage, but decided against it. Henry had been almost ecstatic when Emma told him the news, and she didn’t want Regina to see how happy he was. That’d just be a slap in the face, and Regina didn’t need any more of those right now. Emma stepped out of her car just in time to see Regina wheeling a dolly packed high with small boxes to her car. She raised an eyebrow. Dang but Regina worked fast. “You can load those into my car if you want.” Emma said, walking over. “It’ll save you the trip.” Regina glared at her and picked up a box with both hands, wincing slightly as she did so.  
“Thank you Miss Swan, but I’m fine.” She said coldly, walking over and sliding the box into the trunk of her Benz. “Besides, you don’t know how to get there.” Regina continued, closing the trunk and opening the doors so she could put the rest of the boxes in the back seat. Emma frowned at the strange comment.  
“I know how to get to my own apartment Regina.”   
“That’s nice Miss Swan, but these aren’t going to your apartment.” Regina said flatly, picking up another box. Emma blinked.  
“Wait, these aren’t Henry’s things?” She asked, pointing at the boxes.  
“Of course not.” Regina said as she struggled to pick up a box labeled ‘Dishes’. “They’re mine.”  
“Yours?” Emma demanded incredulously.  
“Yes. I’m afraid that I had to put a large number of my clothes in the basement, and as you can see I am taking a small number of dishes, but the master bedroom and my study are now empty of everything except furniture.” Emma stared at her.  
“Why…Why would you do that?”   
“Because Miss Swan,” Regina said, reaching into her pocket with her left hand and pulling out a key ring. “You’re moving into my house.”  
“Wait, what?”  
“I’ve seen your apartment Miss Swan, and it is not nearly big enough to accommodate you, Miss Blanchard, and Henry. Moreover, given Miss Blanchard’s tendency for promiscuity I am not comfortable with him staying there. At least in my home is you bring someone over you won’t alert Henry as to what you’re doing.” Emma scowled, irritated and slightly insulted.  
“Know that from experience?”  
“Excuse me?”  
“I saw Graham slipping out of your house the other night.” Regina’s face flushed.  
“And you thought we’d slept together?” She demanded. “Miss Swan, Sheriff Graham and I were talking. He’s one of the few people in this town that I trust, that I can openly show emotion to without fear of it being used against me. Besides, if we had slept together I would have made him go out the bedroom window so he couldn’t possible wake Henry. And finally, you’ve seen my arm Miss Swan. Do you really think sex is something I could do without experiencing extreme pain?” Emma gave Regina a ‘How stupid do you think I am?’ look.  
“Like cowgirl position wouldn’t easily fix that problem.” She said, rolling her eyes. Regina gave her a puzzled frown.  
“How would me wearing a hat make my arm not hurt?” Emma gave her an incredulous look.  
“You know, girl on top?” Regina just stared at her blankly. “You…really don’t know about that, do you?” Emma asked, stunned.  
“I was told that putting the woman on top would hurt the man.” Regina said. “Regardless, I didn’t tell you to come here to discuss my lack of a sex life.” She held the keys out for Emma to take. “Henry is in a delicate position in his life. He’s had to deal with enough stressful changes lately, and I’m not adding moving into a smaller home one of those changes.” Emma just looked at her, not moving to take the keys. “The mortgage has been completely paid for Miss Swan. The only money you’ll have to give is for the utility bills.”  
“And where will you be living?” Emma asked. Regina glared.  
“If you must know, I own a small apartment over the Rabbit Hole.” She said. “Now take the keys.” Emma sighed and took the keys, realizing that Regina wasn’t going to budge on this. “Now then, I have left the kitchen fully stocked, so you won’t need to go grocery shopping for a while.” Regina said, picking up the last box. “And you’ll find a binder in the master bedroom that lists Henry’s favorite and least favorite foods, including pizza toppings, as well as the few things that he’s allergic to and his vitamin schedule.”  
I didn’t sent that package Regina.” Emma said softly, feeling a twinge of pity for the older woman, who was clearly barely holding it together.  
“Then who did?” Regina snapped, slamming the car door shut. “The only people who know about my arm are Dr. Whale, Sheriff Graham, and you. Out of those three, who would benefit from sending pictures of it to CPS?” Regina took a step closer to Emma. “You’re the only one. So you had better take good care of my son Miss Swan. Because if you don’t, I will rip your heart out and crush it into dust.” The threat was a strange one, but Regina’s tone and facial expression were so intimidating that Emma had to force herself not to take a step back. “Do I make myself clear Miss Swan?”  
“Crystal.” Emma said, gulping. “Do you want help moving in to your new place?” Regina stared at her incredulously.  
“I’m fine.” She said coldly, turning and wheeling the dolly back to the garage, then climbing into her car and driving away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I’m an Evil Regal. Regina’s life is going to get better…eventually.  
> Thanks for reading guys! Please review!

**Author's Note:**

> And that was the first chapter of my new story!   
> …Wow, I actually managed to make Regina’s life worse. I didn’t realize that that was possible. I swear I’m an Evil Regal.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading guys! Please review!


End file.
